Minneapolis, MN -- Saturday, North Central University (NCU) Volleyball returned to Clark-Danielson Gymnasium for more Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) action as the Rams hosted the University of Wisconsin-Superior (UWS) Yellowjackets and University of Northwestern (UNW) Eagles. NCU looked to ride its momentum of a 7-game win streak into today's matchups as the Rams would face their toughest tests yet. In game one, the Yellowjackets came out firing on all cylinders and NCU would be unable to keep up as they lost the match 3-0. In game two, North Central rose to the occasion early against the 12th ranked team in the country as they went toe-to-toe with the Eagles of Northwestern. Even though they were able to battle and put forth a better effort than game one, Northwestern won the match 3-0 as the Rams lost their first two conference games. 

Game One Recap:

The Yellowjackets got off to a hot start as they opened set one with five straight points. This early momentum would be too much for the Rams as the closest they would come to UWS would be 4 points. Superior won set one easily at 25-16. Sophomore Sydney Carlson led NCU with 3 kills in the first set. The Rams found themselves trailing early in the second as well at 10-5. Senior Hailey Lerfald and junior Nana Lopez each had 3 kills in the set to lead the North Central offense late in the set. However, UWS held on to its lead to win 25-20 to go up two sets to none. In the third set, Sydney Carlson started things off with a huge kill to try and buy some level of momentum. NCU led 15-12 when UW-Superior ripped off 8 straight points to flip the set on its head. Superior went on to close out the set 25-18 and sweep the Rams 3-0, ending NCU's win streak. 

Game Two Recap: 

Game two was all Rams early as they led 4-0 to start. The first set saw sloppy play on both sides as there were 17 total errors committed, including 10 by NCU. After the slow start, UNW picked up momentum with a 5-0 and 3-0 run to regain the lead. Northwestern won set one 25-19, despite the Rams' best effort. Set two was back-and-forth as Lexie Semrau kicked off the set with a massive block from her middle hitter position. In the middle of the set, Nana Lopez recorded back-to-back kills to continue her strong performance. The Eagles rattled off 6-straight points to take a commanding lead at 18-11 and went on to win 25-17. In set three, both squads cleaned up their offensive attacks, limiting errors. Unfortunately for the Rams, Northwestern played its best set yet with 20 total kills to put this game away. Sydney Carlson recorded 4 kills in the final set, but it would not be enough to keep up with the Eagles. North Central lost the final set 25-15 and the match 3-0. 

Looking Ahead:

North Central will travel to Morris, MN to take on Minnesota Morris next Friday, October 11th at 7:00pm!

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